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Bleecker Street Cinema
posted by
gra8tful1
on
November 7, 2005 at 5:26 am
Former NY'er…existing in The Midwest (what EVER that means…). I worked the Bleecker St and Carnegie Hall Cinemas… was close w/Meryl and Gary… other projectionist at Bleecker cannot remember his name… but spent many kind moments up in the booth!!
In fact, I was there when the artwork commissioned by Sid/Jackie, and completed by Dominique Pichou was unveiled at the Bleecker…
Al Karman
Comments (2)
I still live in NYC, but from ‘82-'97 I lived in the West Village and was a frequent patron at the very funky Bleecker Street Cinema. I remember seeing an early Ken Burns documentary there about Huey Long. This was before Burns hit it real big with his tv docs.
Another memorable night was back in the 80s when the cinema was showing a Godard film — “Hail Mary” maybe — that got the relgious folks all riled up. I remember exiting the theatre — I was seeing whatever else was playing in the duplex — and there are all these people standing on the sidewalk praying and chanting. It was eerie. A portent of what would happen in this country.
And I remember the woman who ran the cinema when it closed — she was French I believe — tried to start a rep house where the Thalia SoHo was, but she couldn’t make a go of it. I remember when the Film Forum programmed a film noir retro — ‘92 maybe — and she also programmed a noir retro and I remember running back and forth between the retros.
By 1968 or ‘69, after growing up in the 'burbs, I decided it was time to check out these so-called 'art’ films I had heard about. Where else to go but Bleecker St? I subwayed into the city and spent the afternoon at a double bill of RED DESERT and LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD. I staggered out dizzy, thrilled, disoriented, exalted, confused — and determined to be a film major.
kenf